Few people will face multiple life-threatening disasters in their lifetime. Fewer still have the expertise to dissect those disasters to understand how their leadership contributed to survival. As a professional round-the-world yachtsman and with his background in psychology, Adam Tuffnell can deliver just this.

His four tenets of Teamwork, Leadership, Communication and Fun translate highly effectively from offshore to the office and are designed to be applied in any business situation.

Throughout his 20-year sailing career, Adam Tuffnell has sailed in some of the most hostile environments on the planet, ranging from the freezing wilderness of the Southern Ocean through to the debilitating humidity of the tropics.

He is one of a select group of sailors who have circumnavigated the world against prevailing winds and currents, a feat which until recently was considered impossible. He has faced hurricanes, collisions, flooding and the emergency medical evacuation of a crew mate.

“Leadership and survival are one and the same. Without leadership you will not survive.”
Adam Tuffnell

Adam has also built a successful sailing school and trained future Round-the-World racing crews from zero experience to a state of ocean-going readiness.

His energy and passion for sailing were formed as a child in small dinghies and ‘globalised’ through racing the BT Global Challenge, in 2000. As a graduate in Psychology and Philosophy and an accomplished sailor, Adam has unique insight into the practical applications of effective leadership and team development within the challenging environments of open-water and the corporate office.

Presentation in Practice:

While on the water, Adam creates a learning environment for business leaders, which illustrates that ‘experience is what you learn, just after you most needed it’. Time on the water naturally creates unique situations, which invariably require a unique solution. Adam communicates how this adaptive thinking process can be applied in practice.

What’s in it?

Adam delivers a lighthearted review in addressing and assessing the success and failure of:

Teamwork

Communication

Leadership

Fun

Illustrating the importance of the four tenets through his own significant experience and by reviewing well-known disasters with an insider’s expert eye, Adam discusses what lessons we can all learn about team dynamics and how we can avert disasters in our personal and professional lives.

What will you learn?

This is not just a presentation about effective delegation and leading from the front.

Whether it is an aggressive pitch against competition, an internal crisis, hurricane-force winds, the same lessons apply.

Adam presents a keen understanding of facets of leadership as tested and proven in extreme conditions including:

Value of feelings and sharing them in a tensioned environment.

Leadership under extreme pressure.

The Importance of conscious management of core components of team leadership.

Transparency in situational awareness – be honest with the troops.

The importance of deciding, rather than trying, to succeed.

This presentation bridges the gap between offshore and office to demonstrate how to:

Challenge the ‘norm’ of observations and conclusions.

Solve problems from within the team environment.

Ensure the accountability of decision-making processes

Manage team dynamics

What’s Adam Tuffnell done?

Adam is a round-the-world yachtsman who has circumnavigated the globe ‘the wrong-way’ against prevailing winds and tides.

He was one of only 12 skippers selected by Clipper to train amateur round-the-world crews from scratch to race readiness.

The principal of a successful sailing school

Personal development coach

Team building course leader

The skipper of numerous offshore and ocean racing teams most recently a crew of 12 in the Fastnet 2013.

Worked extensively for Tall Ships Youth Trust skippering young people from underprivileged backgrounds.

Presented at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and HMS Sultan as part of the armed forces Officer Leadership Training Course.

For further info or to book Adam Tuffnell, email us or speak with a booking agent on 01275 463222

Testimonials

I just wanted to express how much I enjoyed your presentation to the group last night. I was impressed with how you expanded the 4 key tenets of Teamwork, Leadership, Communication and Fun and made them thought provoking in a business environment. Even though the room was short on salty sea-dogs your message was well received.

Mark Burberry, BCM Business Cost Management

Dear Adam,
I am writing to thank you for your presentation to the Business Club Northants earlier this week.
It was extremely interesting to see how you detailed your sailing experiences and then connected them to business practices.
The video inspired one of my members who has never sailed at all to say to me afterwards “If Adam had asked for a volunteer crew on the night that he would have signed up there and then!”
Your knowledge and insight into sailing disasters was quite thought provoking and concern was expressed that things do not seem to have improved with regard to safety drills on boats and ships.
I would recommend your services to any company or group who would like to listen to your very interesting presentation on Leadership challenges.